OK, I'm back. The movie was good, really cute actually. Although Aaron Eckhart does less than nothing for me. There was only minimal fallout from my bad movie karma and most of it didn't impact me. It wasn't too crowded and there was just 2 minutes when the "Turn Your cell phone off please" message seemed to stick. Jen and I giggled hopelessly thinking this was a reprise of
the technical difficulties experienced here. But then it moved along. The only other problem was the people behind us. Again, Jen picked the seats, so I can't be blamed! There were 4 people sitting behind and to Jen's left, I was on the right (which is silly since I should always be on the left of anyone I'm trying to hear, lol). Anyway, I guess they laughed loudly and were "goony" according to Jen. Thanks to the otosclerosis - not my problemo!
Wow. Yours is the first good review that I have read. One review said that Catherine Zeta Jones was unconvincing as a chef, a romantic lead, and an American.....
ReplyDeleteDon Feder (he used to write for the Boston Herald) had this to say about the movie:
ReplyDelete“NO RESERVATIONS” – New in theaters.
Critics are comparing “No Reservations” unfavorably to the German film (“Mostly Martha”) on which it’s based. I wouldn’t know. You’d need a gun to get me to a foreign film. For a German film, make that a machinegun.
“No Reservations” contains no surprises. The ending is predictable.
Still, it’s pleasant, well-acted (if not exactly hearty) fare. In the romantic leads, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart have chemistry (not the kind practiced by Moslem physicians in the U.K.).
As the executive chef at a trendy Manhattan restaurant, the delicious Zeta-Jones is presented as a Type-A, obsessive, controlling single and single-minded career woman. Maybe -- but there’s a vulnerability lurking below the surface that gives her character some depth.
Kate Armstrong (Zeta-Jones), a brilliant chef, is ordered into therapy by her employer, to overcome a cutting-edge temper aroused by the demands of unruly customers.
While she prepares magnificent dishes, Kate is so consumed by the quest for perfection that it seems she doesn’t even enjoy her own creations.
Food isn’t the only thing she doesn’t take the time to savor. Kate avoids romantic entanglements and can’t even develop a rapport with her staff.
A car accident takes the life her sister and brings a precocious 10-year-old into hers. There’s nothing like a child to humanize even a hardened mistress of the mousse. But first Kate has to penetrate niece Zoe’s shell of grief. (Zoe is played by an older Abigail Breslin, who charmed audiences in “Little Miss Sunshine.”)
While Kate is away grieving and trying to connect, and the restaurant’s sous chef is having a baby, the owner hires Nick (Eckhart).
Nick is a Type-SIO (sings Italian opera) personality. He also jokes with the staff and makes complicated cooking look as easy as sprinkling powdered sugar on a stack of pancakes.
When Kate brings withdrawn Zoe to the restaurant, loveable Nick wins her over with a bowl of spaghetti. The rest is standard romantic stuff, spiced with appealing characters, tantalizing culinary creations and a great score -- a charmingly eclectic mix of opera, swing and original pieces.
Eckhart, who usually plays a cynic or a cad, should do more comedy. Zeta-Jones should too, while avoiding men in masks.
“No Reservations” may not be crème brulee. But it’s as satisfying as a hot-fudge sundae, following a pasta dinner.